The Background: The bills, H.R. 7297 and S. 3502, were introduced last month under the name of the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act of 2024 and both have bipartisan support. If enacted, the bill would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to prohibit credit reporting agencies from furnishing information about a consumer’s mortgage application to another person unless the other person has the authorization or permission of the consumer applying for the loan, was the loan’s originator or servicer, or is an insured depository institution or credit union that holds an account owned by the consumer to whom the credit report relates.

• In many cases, when a borrower applies for a mortgage, other companies have set up what are known as triggers with the credit reporting agencies to be notified of that application. Consumers are often bombarded with calls and inquiries from companies seeking to do business with them because they are now looking to buy a house.
• Consumers often blame the mortgage company they applied with, thinking that company sold their information, not realizing it was the credit bureaus that did it.

The Coalition: Endorsing their support for the bills were groups like the American Bankers Association, the Mortgage Bankers Association, companies like Rocket Mortgage and Freedom Mortgage, and advocacy groups like the Consumer Federation of America and the National Consumer Law Center.

What They Want: They want the bill to become law. Calling trigger leads, “abusive,” the groups are asking for the respective committees to mark up the bill and move them to the full House of Representatives and Senate for their consideration.

Learn More.

The Background: The Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, H.R. 7297, was introduced by Rep. John Rose [R-Tenn.] and has 12 cosponsors, including Rep. Ritchie Torres [D-N.Y.], Rep. Wiley Nickel [D-N.C.], and Rep. Brittany Petersen [D-Colo.]. The bill has been referred to the House Financial Services Committee for its consideration.

What It Does: The bill would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act and prohibit credit reporting agencies from furnish information about a consumer’s mortgage application to another person unless the other person has the authorization or permission of the consumer applying for the loan, was the loan’s originator or servicer, or is an insured depository institution or credit union that holds an account owned by the consumer to whom the credit report relates.

What It Will Do: Consumers are often “bombarded” with hundreds of calls from other lenders after applying for a mortgage, because the credit reporting agencies have products that sell this information to interested parties. They are called trigger leads because it is the appearance of the application on the consumer’s credit report that triggers the credit bureau to sell this piece of information to anyone who is interested. Interested parties would only be able to purchase the personal information of consumers who opt-in to having their information sold, if enacted.

Who’s Supporting It: The Independent Community Bankers Association, Mortgage Bankers Association, National Association of Mortgage Brokers, American Bankers Association, and the Broker Action Coalition.

The Last Word: “Buying a home is stressful enough for many consumers. The last thing most folks want is to be annoyed incessantly by the constant barrage of emails, text messages, and phone calls after they apply for a mortgage,” said Rep. Rose in a statement. “My bill would put an end to this shady and confusing practice and restore data privacy for homebuyers.”

Learn More.